Student charged with making bomb threat

From staff reports

Published: July 24, 2013

A 26-year-old student who told people "you're gonna die" was arrested and charged with making a bomb threat at Rasmussen College in New Port Richey, deputies said.Jeremy Jose Rivera, of 9914 Stephenson Drive, New Port Richey, was jailed with bail set at $10,500.Rivera, a student at the school's East Pasco/Land O' Lakes campus, carried a leather bag and asked to speak with staff members about 4 p.m. Friday, a Pasco County Sheriff's Office affidavit said. When told they were gone for the day, Rivera became upset, acting erratically and abnormal, a witness told investigators.Witnesses said Rivera went to the campus media room, where he told people, "You're gonna die," the sheriff's office said. One witness told deputies Rivera may have "left something" at the school.

A faculty member told an investigator that Rivera had been "acting weird" during a class the previous night, according to the affidavit.Shortly after leaving the campus, Rivera was involved in a traffic crash at Little Road and St. Lawrence Drive, deputies said. Rivera told a deputy he left a bomb in the school, the sheriff's office said. He also told the deputy he was "joking" and "felt the rush of combat," according to the affidavit.The campus, at 8661 Citizens Drive off Little Road, was evacuated, but the sheriff's office said no explosives were found.Rivera was charged with making a bomb threat and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.A campus director said Rivera would no longer be allowed on either Pasco campus, the affidavit said.